Ozone generator

ABSTRACT

An ozone generator comprising at least one but preferably a plurality of electrostatic ozone generating units located in a first enclosed compartment and being individually powered by respective transformers which are located in a second enclosed compartment and which are air cooled by blower means. The air flowing over the transformers is then fed into the compartment including the ozone generating units where ozone is generated and fed therefrom. In another embodiment, a booster is coupled to the ozone generating compartment for blending a large volume of outside air with the generated ozone and includes another housing or compartment including second blower means therein as well as a bifurcated input mixing tube having a pair of input arms and a single output arm and wherein one of the input arms is connected to the second blower means while the other input arm is connected to the ozone generating compartment. The single output arm delivers a relatively large volume of an air and ozone mixture into the surrounding atmosphere.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to apparatus for treating atmosphericair within a predetermined area and more particularly to apparatus forgenerating ozone for use as a deodorizer and air purifier within thepredetermined area and its surrounding environment.

Ozone generators for supplying ozone to a localized region such as aroom or other type of an enclosed area is generally known. Suchapparatus typically comprises a housing in which there is located one ormore ozone generating units which when energized produce ozone gas whichis then fed from the housing to the surrounding air where it operates toclean the environment of pollution, odors, bacteria, mildew, mold, badair viruses, etc. Such apparatus is particularly applicable in the foodindustry and factories where a large amount of contaminants are presentin the atmosphere. Generally, each ozone generator unit includes a pairof electrodes separated by a dielectric member and which are activatedfrom a high voltage source, for example, a high voltage step-uptransformer connected to the AC line voltage. An electrical dischargeoccurs between the electrodes of the ozone generator, causing gaseousozone to be produced.

To cool the transformer and improve the transfer of the ozone generatedfrom inside the housing to the surroundings, some type of aircirculator, such as a fan or blower, is normally installed on or in thehousing for not only drawing air into the housing, but for forcing airincluding the generated ozone out of the housing. As a result of theinclusion of a blower or fan, however, air contaminated with suchundesirable elements such as oil, grease or water, is drawn into theapparatus and blown into the main enclosure and onto the electrodes andthe means utilized to support these electrodes, e.g. glass tubes. When aglass tube gets wet with oil, grease or water, the high voltage on theinside of the tube and the high voltage on the outside of the tubecreated by the conductor electrode make contact around the end of thewet tube which then causes the transformer to heat and eventually breakdown, thus rendering the apparatus non-operational.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animprovement in apparatus for treating air in a localized environment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improvement inozone generators.

And yet a further object of the invention is to provide an improved,safe and durable ozonizer for applications requiring air purificationand deodorization.

SUMMARY

Briefly, the foregoing and other objects of the invention are achievedby an ozone generator comprising at least one but preferably a pluralityof electrostatic ozone generating units located in a first enclosedcompartment and being individually powered by respective transformerswhich are located in a second enclosed compartment and which are aircooled by blower means. The air flowing over the transformers is thenfed into the compartment including the ozone generating units whereozone is generated and fed therefrom, the separate transformersproviding increased surface area and heat transfer efficiency ascompared with a single large transformer of equal power. The electricalisolation of the transformers preclude the failure of the system due toan individual electrical fault in one or more of the generating units.Additionally, the invention is comprised of a booster unit for blendinga large volume of outside air with the generated ozone and includesanother housing or compartment including second blower means therein aswell as a bifurcated input mixing tube having a pair of input arms and asingle output arm and wherein one of the input arms is connected to thesecond blower means while the other input arm is connected to thecompartment including the ozone generator unit. The single output armdelivers a relatively large volume of an air and ozone mixture into thesurrounding atmosphere.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the subject invention will be obtained whenthe following detailed description is considered together with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view generally illustrative of a firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the details of one of theozone generating electrode units shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view generally illustrative of a second embodimentof the subject invention; and

FIG. 5 is a mechanical schematic diagram further illustrative of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawing figures wherein like reference numeralsrefer to like components throughout, reference is first made to FIG. 1where reference numeral 10, for example, denotes a generally rectangularmetal or plastic housing 10 including a hinged lid 12 which may includea lock, not shown, and a lower body portion 14 having three compartments16, 18 and 20. The compartment 16 is utilized for the location of meansfor generating air flow through the compartments 18 and 20. Thecompartment 16 accordingly houses an electrical fan or blower 22 whichis mounted on a partition wall member 24 including an opening 26 forfeeding air into the adjoining compartment 18. The blower compartment 16additionally includes an air inlet opening 28 which is covered by anintake filter element 30 of any convenient design.

The compartment 18 comprises an elongated compartment including aplurality of high voltage step-up transformers 32₁, 32₂, 32_(n-1), . . .32_(n) which are mounted on a common internal wall 34 which separatesthe compartments 18 and 20. As can be seen, the transformers 32₁ . . .32_(n) are oriented such that the air flow generated by the blower 22 isforced over the winding portions thereof to cool the transformers duringoperation. At the far end of the wall 34 from the blower compartment 16,there is located at least one opening 36 where the cooling air flowingover the transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n) passes from compartment 18 intothe compartment 20 which as shown includes a major portion of the lowerhousing portion 14. The compartment 20 comprises an ozone generatorcompartment in which are located a plurality of electrostatic ozonegenerator units 38₁, 38₂, 38_(n-1), . . . 38_(n) equal in number to thenumber of transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n) located in the transformercompartment 18. With such a configuration, one transformer 32_(i) isutilized for individually energizing a single generator unit 38_(i).With one independent ozone generator unit being coupled to a respectivetransformer, should any unit or transformer fail, the remaining unitswill continue to operate normally.

Compartment 18 is also provided with a top cover (not shown) forproviding a sealed chamber between the inlet 30 and the outlet opening36.

Control for the transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n) is provided by a separaterheostat housing 40 including a resistive type rheostat or potentiometer42 for coupling AC power in parallel to the transformers located in thetransformer compartment 18. Additionally, AC power is fed from therheostat housing 42 to power the fan or blower 22 located in the blowercompartment 16. The rheostat housing 40 additionally includes an on/offAC power switch 44 and when desirable can include selector switch means,not shown, for energizing selected numbers of the transformers 32₁ . . .32_(n) and thus control the power output and the amount of ozonegenerated for particular application. The rheostat housing 40 alsonormally includes a fuse device 46 which might be, for example, a manualtype circuit breaker.

All of the electrostatic ozone generator units 38₁ . . . 38_(n) are ofidentical construction as shown in FIG. 3. There one of the units, forexample 38₁, is comprised of an elongated tubular insulator member 48,typically being made of glass, and having an inner and outer electrodemember 50 and 52 located thereon. Both electrode members 50 and 52 areshown formed of tubular sections of wire mesh. The wire mesh of theouter electrode is held in place by a pair of adjustable clamps 54, and56 which fasten to a pair of stand-off insulators 58 and 60 which arefastened to the inside surface of the bottom wall 13 of the lowerhousing portion 14.

Each of the transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n), moreover, includes a pair ofhigh voltage output terminals 64₁, 66₁ . . . 64_(n), 66_(n) which coupleacross respective secondary windings, not shown. The output terminals,in turn, are respectively coupled to the outer and inner wire meshelectrodes 52₁, 50₁ . . . 52_(n), 50_(n) by respective high voltageleads 68₁, 70₁ . . . 68_(n), 70_(n).

When each of the ozone units 38₁ . . . 38_(n) are electrostaticallyenergized by respective high voltages applied from a respectivetransformer 32₁ . . . 32_(n), ozone is generated within the compartmentarea 20 and due to the forced air flow caused by the blower 22, anair-ozone mixture is caused to exit the housing 10 via an outlet port 72located in the far wall 17 which is opposite the input end wall 15. Itshould be noted, however, that when desirable the outlet port 77 couldbe located in either the other end wall 15 or the relatively longeradjoining side wall 19.

In order to prevent someone from reaching inside the ozone generatorcompartment 20 when the lid 12 is closed, an internal entry preventionshield member 74 is fastened to the inside of the side wall 17 as shown.

It should be pointed out that the location of the high voltageexcitation transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n) and the ozone generator units38₁ . . . 38_(n) in separate compartments 18 and 20 serve a veryimportant purpose in addition to that already noted with respect toreceiving cooling air from the blower 22. The isolation provided by thewall member 34 additionally prevents the transformers from beingcorroded by the ozone generated within the compartment 20. Furthermore,the heat generated by the ozone generator units 38₁ . . . 38_(n) isprevented from reaching the interior of the transformer compartment 18,thus further protecting the transformers 32₁ . . . 32_(n) from the heatin the ozone generator compartment. Additionally, by also isolating thefan or blower 22 from the ozone compartment 20, it prevents ozone fromattacking the blower or fan 22 which tends to shorten the life span, dueto excessive ozone corrosion and heat.

What has been shown and described up to this point is an ozone generatorconfiguration wherein each of the ozone generator units are electricallyseparate from each other and are energized by individual transformers.An additional embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 4 andcomprises apparatus which now includes an air-ozone booster unit 76attached to or integral with the ozone generator housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, reference numeral 10' denotes a modified housinghaving a booster unit 76 integrated therewith. For simplicity, a singleozone generator 38 powered by a single transformer 32 are respectivelylocated in compartments 18' and 20. Further, the control box 40 shown inFIG. 1 is now also integrated into housing 10' in line with the fancompartment 16 and the now shortened transformer compartment 18'. Thebooster unit 76 shares a common elongated side wall 19 with the ozonegenerator compartment 20 and further includes a pair of relativelyshorter end walls 75 and 77 which are extensions of the end walls 15 and17 and one outer-side wall 79 which is Parallel to the non extensionside wall 19. A second air inlet port 78 is formed in the end wall 75and is covered by an air filter 80. Thus two separate air inlets 28 and78 are provided on the same end of the housing 10'.

Compartment 18' is also provided with a top cover (not shown) forproviding a sealed chamber between inlet 30 and outlet opening 36.

Whereas in the first embodiment the ozone outlet port 72 was located inthe side wall 17, in the present embodiment an opening 82 is nowprovided in the common side wall 19 where ozone generated in thecompartment 20 is fed by a coupling 83 into a relatively smallerdiameter side arm 84 of a bifurcated or generally Y shaped blending ormixing tube or pipe 86 having a relatively larger end 88 and an outputend 90. The input end 88 of the tube 86 is coupled to a second airsupply means shown as a blower 92. In FIG. 4, the blower 92 includes anoutput nozzle 94 which is connected into the input end 88 of the mixingpipe 86. Filtered input air is drawn through the opening 78 where itenters the blower 92 from the side as shown. Forced air is directed intothe pipe member 86 where ozone is fed thereto from the side arm 84 andthe mixture is fed out of the booster housing 76 from an outlet portmember 96 now located in the end wall 77.

The blower 92 located in the booster housing 76 preferably comprises ahigher volume blower than that of the blower 22' so that what isprovided is apparatus which is able to take a relatively low volume ofozone and air and blend it with a relatively high volume of outside air.Thus the first relatively smaller blower 22' is used to cool thetransformer 32 in a separate compartment 18' adjoining the maincompartment 20 housing the ozone generator unit 38. The ozone generatedin the compartment 20 is then fed into the booster unit 76 where itmixes with a relatively high volume of air which is forced out into theatmosphere by the second blower 92.

Booster housing 76 is provided with a top cover (not shown) to provide asealed housing between inlet 78 and outlet port 96. More than one outletport 96 may be provided if desired.

While the booster unit 76 shown in FIG. 4 is integrated with the housing10', it should be noted that the booster unit when desirable can beattached to the ozone generator as configured in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thuswhat is intended to be shown by FIG. 5 is that the booster unit 76 canbe used in combination with either a single transformer assembly 10' asshown in FIG. 4, or a multiple transformer assembly 10 as shown in FIG.2. All that is required is to provide the required ozone coupling fromthe output of the ozone generator section into the side arm 84 of theblending pipe 86 shown in FIG. 4.

Having thus shown and described what is at present considered to be thepreferred embodiments of the invention, it should be noted that the samehas been made by way of illustration and not limitation. Accordingly,all modifications, alterations add changes coming within the spirit andscope of the invention are herein meant to be included.

I claim:
 1. Apparatus for generating ozone, comprising:a housing; atleast two mutually isolated compartments in said housing; a plurality ofelectrostatic ozone generating units located in one of saidcompartments; a like plurality of transformers located in the other ofsaid compartments for independently supplying electrical power toindividual ozone generating units of said plurality of generating units;first blower means for supplying air to said other compartment forcooling said transformers, means for coupling air from said othercompartment to said one compartment, output means for feeding ozonemixed with air out of said one compartment to the surrounding atmospheresaid output means including an outlet port, and additionally including abooster unit coupled to said outlet port, said booster unitcomprising:second blower means for supplying a relatively high volume ofair as compared to the air generated by the first blower means, aidsecond blower means being physically isolated from any direct exposureto ozone from said ozone generating units, means for mixing ozone fromsaid outlet port with said high volume of air; and second output meansfor delivering a mixture of ozone and air from said mixing meansexteriorly of said apparatus; and whereby the isolation of said twocompartments from each other prevents ozone corrosion of saidtransformer and heat generated by said ozone generating unit isprevented from affecting the operation of said transformers.
 2. Theapparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said booster unit includeshousing means for supporting said second fan means for supplying saidhigh volume of air, said mixing means, and said second output means. 3.The apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein said booster unit includes athird compartment in said housing adjacent said one compartment forsupporting said second fan means for supplying said high volume of air,said mixing means, and said second output means.
 4. The apparatus asdefined by claim 1 wherein said second output means comprises a secondoutlet port, said mixing means comprises a tubular member having a pairof input members and a single output member and wherein one of saidinput members is connected to said second fan means for supplying arelatively high volume of air, the other of said input members isconnected to said outlet port of said one compartment and said outputmember is connected to said second outlet port.
 5. An air booster unitfor ozone generating apparatus having at least one ozone generating unitcoupled to and energized by a transformer physically separated andisolated from each other in a housing and having first blower means forsupplying air to the transformer and ozone generating unit said boosterunit comprising:second blower means for supplying a relatively highvolume of air as compared to the volume of air generated by the firstblower means, said second blower means being physically isolated fromany direct exposure to ozone generated by said ozone generated unit,means for mixing ozone from said ozone generating unit with said highvolume of air; and outlet means for delivering a mixture of ozone andair from said mixing means exteriorly of said apparatus.
 6. The boosterunit as defined by claim 5 wherein said booster unit includes housingmeans for supporting said second fan means for supplying said highvolume of air, said mixing means, and outlet means.
 7. The booster unitas defined by claim 5 and wherein said booster unit includes a separatecompartment for supporting said second fan means for supplying said highvolume of air said mixing means, and said outlet means.
 8. The boosterunit as defined by claim 5 wherein said mixing means comprises a tubularmember having a pair of input members and a single output member andwherein one of said input members is connected to sad second fan meansfor supplying a relatively high volume of air, the other of said inputmembers is connected to ozone generated by said ozone generating unitand said output member is connected to said outlet means.
 9. The boosterunit as defined by claim 8 wherein said one input member and said outputmember are mutually coextensive and of the same size and said otherinput member comprises a branch member of relatively smaller size..Iadd.
 10. An air handling system for ozone generating apparatus havingat least one ozone generating unit coupled to and energized by atransformer, a blower unit for supplying air to said ozone generatingunit which receives and discharges ozone from said ozone generation unitinto said supplied air, a mixing chamber which contains air and which isconnected to receive the air supplied to the ozone generator after saidsupplied air has received ozone from the ozone generator unit andwherein the supplied air and ozone are mixed with the air in the mixingchamber prior to being discharged from the ozone generating apparatus..Iaddend. .Iadd.
 11. An air handling system of claim 10 wherein theamount of air contained in the mixing chamber is controlled. .Iaddend..Iadd.12. An air handling system of claim 11 wherein the amount of airin the mixing chamber is controlled in response to the amount of ozoneproduced in the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.13. An airhandling system of claim 10 wherein there are central means to vary theamount of ozone produced by the ozone generator. .Iaddend. .Iadd.14. Anair handling system of claim 11 wherein there are central means to varythe amount of ozone produced by the ozone generator. .Iaddend. .Iadd.15.An air handling system of claim 12 wherein there are central means tovary the amount of ozone produced by the ozone generator. .Iaddend..Iadd.16. An air handling system of claim 10 wherein the transformer isphysically separated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.17.An air handling system of claim 11 wherein the transformer is physicallyseparated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.18. An airhandling system of claim 12 wherein the transformer is physicallyseparated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.19. An airhandling system of claim 13 wherein the transformer is physicallyseparated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.20. An airhandling system of claim 14 wherein the transformer is physicallyseparated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend. .Iadd.21. An airhandling system of claim 15 wherein the transformer is physicallyseparated from the ozone generating unit. .Iaddend.